Sacred Blades

Campaign Journal

Before their eyes the Temple of Karsis had transformed. Now a black stone pyramid rose into the sky, growing still. A massive portal raged at the top and something huge loomed into view. Disgorged from the portal directly down onto the flat pyramid top was a gigantic tentacled, primordial monstrosity. The twenty-foot-high thing wriggled its ropelike tentacles and four more portals instantly opened, one at each corner of the pyramid. Lesser elementals of all types began to stream through. An invasion had begun.

Welcome to the story of the Sacred Blades, a paragon-tier 4E Forgotten Realms campaign set in the North. We are a group of experienced players of past editions and meet weekly, lugging dice, minis and stacks of books laptops for a few hours of gaming.

Setting

The year is 1479 D.R, the Year of the Ageless One. The world was torn asunder after the murder of the goddess of magic 100 years ago. Spellplague, war and famine have made the Realms a dangerous place. Lost empires and hidden magics abound. In the midst of this chaos, adventurers and treasure hunters thrive. One such band is the Sacred Blades.

Play began in Daggerford, a tiny town along the Trade Way which links the mighty Sword Coast cities of Waterdeep and Baldur’s Gate. It serves as a waypoint not only for caravans braving the Trade Way but also those traveling up the Grayflow River to points north. Here the Blades met by chance, some arriving from Waterdeep, others from points south. They found common cause in the service of their gods and the struggle against evil, defending the peoples of Daggerford against goblin incursion.

Soon they traveled to Loudwater, an isolated frontier town in desperate need of heroes. It had been decades since good had been forced upon the region, and in it’s absence evil had flourished. Three major Powers controlled the region: Cyric, Shar and Asmodeus. Through their mortal worshipers, they had divided the land amongst them in a constant struggle for supremacy.

Waiting for the Blades would be slave-trading Zhentarim, empire-building Netherese, heartless Fey and brutal dragons. Would they play their various enemies one against the other, or attempt to remove them all? Yet the most difficult foe may be their own internal struggles against zealotry and religious extremism. Could the Blades battle evil daily without being tainted?